DAY’S END ROUNDUP

by Chris Good - 12/03/08 7:18 PM ET

With Democrat Al Franken now claiming that he leads in Minnesota’s Senate race, bloggers debate the comedian’s chances of winning, while others doubt Sen. Saxby Chambliss’s (R-Ga.) claim that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) had a tremendous impact on Georgia’s Senate race.

Franken is now claiming a 22-vote lead over Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) in his own unofficial count, but Political Animal’s Steve Benen warns that with 138,000 ballots left to be counted, the final results are anybody’s guess. Franken’s numbers are disputed by Coleman’s team, whose count has Coleman up by around 300 votes, Townhall.com’s Matt Lewis points out, questioning the credibility of Franken’s numbers.

Though Chambliss has touted Palin’s hand in his victory, the Alaska governor couldn’t have been worth more than one or two percentage points in the final vote tally, Hot Air’s Allahpundit contends. Republicans can kid themselves about Palin’s impact all they want, Spencer Ackerman muses at Attackerman, hoping the GOP convinces itself to nominate her for president in 2012.

A plan for a two-month tax holiday, meanwhile, gains some traction with one blogger at RedState. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) proposes that Congress stimulate the economy by granting every citizen a reprieve from taxes in the first two months of 2009, and RedState’s Erick Erickson encourages readers to sign a petition in support of the idea.

FROM THE BLOGS:
Musgrave Rob-Call Attacks Liberals – Jeralyn, TalkLeft
On Cabinet Appointments – kos, Daily Kos
RNC Chairman’s Race: Updated Handicapping – Marc Ambinder
Save Taxpayers, Not GM – Erick Erickson, RedState
Franken Leading? – Matt Lewis, Townhall.com
A Way Forward for Republicans – Chris Bowers, Open Left
Barack Obama’s 78 Percent Approval Rating – J. Singer, MyDD
Franken-Coleman Recount Update – Phoenix Woman, The Campaign Silo
Murkowski Warns Palin – Allahpundit, Hot Air
Dems Take a Second Look at Torture – Michael Goldfarb, The Weekly Standard